Are Marketers Succeeding with Personalization?

Are Marketers Succeeding with Personalization?

People share everything on social media these days. Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and all the other communities out there, it’s easier than ever to get a basic idea of who someone is without ever having met them. Now factor in all the data that customers are sharing directly with companies using loyalty programs, cart tracking, and other opt-in marketing. People are revealing more and more about themselves in order to create greater connections with the world around them.

As a marketer, you’re probably very excited about this evolution towards a more open and connected world. After all, you have a story to tell – maybe many stories – and each story needs an audience. The shared world makes it easier to identify and connect with your exact audience — to tell just the right story to just the right people.

Well…maybe.

A recent report from Forrester Consulting shows that while more data is available, many marketers are failing to leverage this data to personalize their marketing. What’s worse: many marketers believe they’re doing a better job than they are, and consumers are disappointed. The report shows that consumers are very willing to share information with companies — but that willingness comes with an expectation of highly personalized, targeted marketing.

For a better picture of the disconnect in personalization, check out this infographic:

So how do you improve from segmented marketing to true personalization? Better data visibility.

As the infographic indicates, companies store customer data in an average of 15 different siloed databases. 15 databases! Can you imagine having to comb through 15 data sets to create and maintain a customer profile? How could you be expected to know your customer and create personalized marketing?

Now imagine all your customer data in a single place. Name, age, location, shopping habits, personal interests, hobbies, occupation, marital and family status – all presented, searchable, and sortable in one database. A consolidated view of your customer data would make it much easier to understand your customers, and to tell the right story to the right customer at the right moment. In fact, as the infographic shows, 70% of marketers with a single database say that the data they’ve collected is “very useful” in creating a 360 degree view of the customer.

Customers want you to know who they are. The days of generalized, segmented marketing are fading – individual and small-group personalization are what matter. Your customers are willing to share data with you, but they expect you to use that data wisely and carefully to present them with better options and to help them make smarter decisions.

The marketing challenge

In this data-driven revolution, to succeed as a marketer you must be able to leverage data and manage technology to understand customers in a granular fashion and speak to them directly as individuals with highly lifestyle relevant products and services. CrossCap’s software helps you tell better marketing stories. Our dashboards and scorecards let you visualize your data and share the insights across your organization. CrossCap’s promotional planning tools support personalization so that your best marketing gets to the right audience at the right moment.

Note: Infographic created by MarketingProfs

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